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Werner Heisenberg

World War I

Munich

Bavaria found itself in turmoil again as prewar tensions
between liberals and socialists returned and escalated. The liberal
Heisenbergs had to choose sides, especially when the Bolsheviks
became involved. Paranoia soon set in, and more than a thousand
suspected communists died in the frenzy. Werner himself had to
dodge a blockade to retrieve black-market provisions. Though he
chose to focus on his studies rather than join the service, he
did serve several brief stints in the military. On one occasion
he was assigned to guard a "red" prisoner who was to be tried and
executed the next day. The young Heisenberg asked the man his life
story, which was probably similar to the standard history of other
soldiers, who were more in need of high army wages than truly committed
to any political ideology. By the next morning the man had convinced
Heisenberg of his innocence, and the latter managed to secure the
man's release.

The confusion of postwar Germany left many young members
of the bourgeoisie searching for answers, and Heisenberg found
them in the youth movement he joined. He was approached by a group
of boys several years younger who sought the guidance of an elder
but who refused to accept an adult leader. The group became known
as Gruppe Heisenberg, officially under the auspices of the Regensburg reform
movement and the Young Bavaria League. At one point, Heisenberg's
group joined a larger meeting of about 250 Pathfinders, which came
together at an isolated medieval castle. There, surrounded only
by nature, the boys debated the questions that had plagued them
all, focusing on their new political situation and how they were
to respond to it.

For the most part, the youth movement was about solidarity
and bonding rather than activism in any real sense. Heisenberg
led his group on hiking tours and served as a father figure, while
he himself made loyal friends upon whom he could fully depend.
In addition to debating politics, the group also read poetry and
enjoyed music together: rather than attempting to change the world,
much of their time was spent reveling in an isolated realm. Heisenberg
also led the group on more dangerous outings–perhaps as part of
his competitive side, he enjoyed taking them to mountains and peaks
that no other group had dared to climb. On one two-week hiking
tour, he contracted typhoid fever and nearly died. Heisenberg's
uncle, Dr. Mutert, was able to save him only by procuring the milk-
and-eggs remedy from a patient in the country, as they were nearly
impossible to find in the years immediately following the war.

The group also made time for more abstract discussion.
Their general feeling of disillusionment made politics an unworthy
subject during those idyllic retreats, so Heisenberg and his friends instead
spent much time on topics of philosophy and theology. Heisenberg
always maintained the reputation of a pragmatist, and later as
a scientist he was seen as utilitarian. His fellow youth leaders tried
to change this, engaging him in metaphysical discussions and forcing
him to consider the philosophical consequences of his science.
One man in particular had a strong influence on Heisenberg: Robert
Honsell, who was only slightly younger than he. Later, Heisenberg
would recall Honsell as the second most influential person in his
intellectual development, after only Niels Bohr. Honsell, a very
well-read man, introduced Heisenberg to much of the Western philosophical
tradition; he later became a district judge. Honsell's impact was
clear: though Heisenberg was not prone to philosophical reflection
any more than most scientists, the interests he did have could
often be traced back to Honsell.

The effects of the youth movement on Heisenberg's career
are numerous. The youth movement pushed him to question traditional
values, including scientific tenets that he would later challenge.
In many ways, the possibilities opened up by the youth movement
made him see that his path lay in science. Although his friends
in the movement pushed him to pursue classical music, he saw that
he had a great deal of potential in physics. He therefore chose
utility over beauty, to the disappointment of many of his idealist
companions. In a similar choice, Heisenberg would always regard
science as above politics, foreshadowing his reaction to the arrival
of the Third Reich, whose coming the youth movement had hoped for,
though not envisioning it under the leadership of someone like
Hitler.